Death is the Only Escape
by Light Brown Shoes
Summary: The school has had many more experiments. Some lived, some didn't. Some, though alive, aren't considered alive. This is their hell, and they can't escape.
1. Chapter 1

Sarah

I huddled in the back of my cage, rocking back and forth. I knew what time it was. I knew everything they did. I wish I didn't. Do you know why?

Because I also knew that they were coming back.

_Which one was it that we needed?_

_Number 68._

I whimpered. I was number 68. I didn't want them coming back. I didn't want to be put in test after test, again and again. Running through mazes, sitting in an electric chair, being stuffed into a box and dropped into water, and much, much more. I didn't want that.

I heard their footsteps, coming down the white tiles, sounds echoing off the white steel walls. Door after door being slammed shut and locked, that sound echoing, also. All were final sounds. All were useless measures. I had no hope of escape, no desire to. They had broken me. And I was going to stay broken. Forever until my death. I envied Hannah, Brad, Delany, Chris and Ruby. I was the only one who knew their names. I am the only one who knows anyone's name. The scientists don't want us to be in contact. But I know. I know the names they had given themselves. I gave myself a name. I forget it now. I don't care. I wish I were dead. Then I could have some peace. I clutch my head. I hear everything. I see everything. I feel everything. Thoughts aren't just words, you know. The mind is always talking, visualizing, hearing. All the senses in this facility, everything here, I sense. I clutch my head harder, and close my eyes. But it doesn't help. It never does. I can't shut it off, I never could. I want to scream.

_Tick tick, it's eleven forty seven._

_Jump to the left, dodge, dodge, DODGE!_

_Soundless, nothing. What if it breaks? I'll drown, I'll drown…_

_Pressure building, don't drop it… don't drop it…_

_(Visual) Diagram of 68's brain…_

_(Feel) Itchy… itchy…_

I hear the scientists' thoughts; they think we are animals. Nothing worth more than scraps of food, soon to be tossed. Except for when we are needed in experiments. Then we are the opportunity of a lifetime. The way to get a pay raise, and get that face lift, or get that new car. That's when we are materials that are not too gross to touch.

_Here we are, Number 68._

_Yes._

_Tick tick, eleven forty eight…_

_Nothing but pain… pain…. Burning, searing pain… please just let me go…_

I felt that pain.

_Don't let go! DON'T LET GO!_

I felt sweat breaking out on my forehead.

_8, 7, 9, 4, 3, 2, 6, 7, 2, 5, 0, 0, 0, 1, 7, 3, 2, 4._

_Beep, beep, beep, beep._

_Whoosh…._

Whoosh….

Then my door opens. They peer in, and I huddle in the back of my cage, covering my eyes with my arm against the light. I hear their thoughts now, they are thinking about who to grab. And the experiments. I whimper again, and then I hear the one come closer. Did I forget to mention I can't shut down my 'special talents'? So I always hear, see, smell, feel, and taste what others are hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling, and tasting. It's always so confusing. Right now, I see myself in the man's eyes, huddled in the back of the cage, brown eyes filled with terror. Dingy brown hair hanging to my shoulders. My ripped clothes barley covering my thin body. I hear myself whimpering, three times, three echoes. I taste the breakfast that both of them have eaten, and I feel the scratchy cloth of their uniforms. I also hear their thoughts.

_This one we can put into room 218._

"This one we can put into room 218."

I can't tell which is spoken and which is thought. I see the other nod through two sets of eyes, and feel his tie choking him as the muscles in his neck tighten.

I hate room 218. I hate all rooms. I don't want to go, but the man over powers me. What do I expect? I haven't eaten in more than three days. I am weak. The most I can do is swat halfheartedly at him. He pulls me out and uses a pair of iron cuffs to latch my hands together and leads me to room 218. I want to stay. I want to resist. But I can't. All is broken for me.

They lead me in through a door and sit me at a table. I look at the dull gray walls, and the tall gray walls diving the room in parts. Each was a different width. I know that there are three men behind each wall. I hear their thoughts about their time. I feel their suits, which are all identical, and actually comfortable. I slouch in my seat.

A man behind a window talks into a microphone, explaining to the men how it works. I already know how. I clutch my head, I'm hearing this speech six times. In my head, out loud, in each of the four men's head, and in the speaker's head.

"Here's how this is going to work."

"_Here's how this is going to work." _

"_Going to work." _

"_Work." _

"_Work."_

"Each of you three men will think of a single word, behind your walls. One is two feet thick, one is three, and one is six. You are each to think of something no one else knows, or is very complicated, and keep saying it in your head. 68 will say it out loud. Be honest, and say yes if she got it right, and no if she got it wrong."

"_Yes if she got it…" _

"_No…" _

"_If she…" _

" _It wrong…"_

The men nodded, and each stared at me.

"Say yes when you have your thought." _"Say yes…" "Have your thought…" "Thought…"_

"Yes," shouted one immediately.

"Yes,"

"Yes,"

"_Yes,"_

"_Yes,"_

"_Yes,"_

I clutched my head tighter.

"Sarah, begin."

"_Begin."_

"_Begin."_

I grab onto their thoughts. The sooner I finish, the sooner I can leave.

"_Chesnuts."_

"Chesnuts." I said aloud, and pointed to the two foot wall, the direction I heard the thought from. I felt him frown, and he said, "Yes."

"_Antidisestablishmentarianism." _

"Antidisestablishmentarianism."

The man who is behind the six foot wall. I felt him raise his eyebrows, and he said yes.

I listened for the last man's thoughts.

"_I'll just say 'no', no matter what. There is no way that girl can read minds. This is all a setup. I bet they did something, something to make it seem like she can."_

I said all this out loud after he finished and pointed to the three foot thick wall. I looked down and tried to drown out all the senses overwhelming me… especially his loud, swearing thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Billy

The point of the water tank was to teach me how to hold air into my force fields and to get them up quickly. You see, I had to encase myself in a force field after I was pushed from the board, (before I hit the water,) and hold it, with all the air in it, as I sank to the bottom of the fifty-foot tank. If I let the force field down, I would either drown or be crushed under the pressure. If I didn't get it up in time, or got it up to early, I would be electrically shocked. So I needed to get it. And let me just say, It was not easy keeping it up until they let out the water.

I was thinking about the pressure of the dark, cold water when I was shoved from behind for the fifth time that day.

I immediately dropped. Luckily, I had instinct. I snapped my arms straight out in front of my and spread them in a half-circle around the front of my body. The clear force field then, slower than I would have liked, spread until it encased me. It was all suddenly quiet, and outside was blurry. I like my fields. They cut me off from the torture that was my life.

Anyway, like I said, it encased me slower than I would have liked, and so a bit of cold water got in before I sank. I always bobbed twice, I don't know why. Then I sank. I went pretty slowly, and the pressure to keep my force field around me was getting harder. I had to keep my arms up, you see, so it wouldn't break. I started to sweat.

I sank deeper and deeper, and the pressure grew greater and greater, until I couldn't stand it. Sweat poured out of every pore in my body, and I wanted to scream. I had been doing this for a while, and it was very exhausting both mentally and physically. You might not think that, but it's true. You lose concentration, the force field drops. If you don't have the strength to hold it physically, though, it slowly shrinks until it crushes you. That's why I wanted to scream, but, like I said, that would mean letting go of my concentration and then the water pour in. And that would mean my death.

I had to hold on… had to hold on…

_Don't let go! Don't drop it! Don't drop it!_

_ DON'T!_

I dropped it. Water rushed in, quick as you like. I was immediately suffocated in pressure, and thrashed around as if that would do anything. I opened my mouth to scream….


	3. Chapter 3

Alex

Tick, tock. Eleven forty nine and thirty two seconds. Tick, tock. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tock. Endless ticking, endless tocking. Forever and ever, never relenting. A white noise forever in my head. Forever ticking. I rock back and forth in tune with the ticking and tocking. Tick, forward. Tock, backward. Forward, back. Forward, back. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. I wish it would stop.

They never come for me. All I ever hear is screams and footsteps. And the ticking and tocking. I always hear that.

I wish I had a better ability. All I know is time. That's it. Nothing else. Nothing at all. Most people here want to be normal. I want powers that don't tell me all the time that passes. I want one where I won't know numbers. Tick, tock. Tick, tick, tick, tock. I hate it. I am slowly losing my mind. Did you know that I have been in here for 7359120 minutes and fifty four seconds? That's fourteen years, twelve days, and fifty four seconds. I know exactly how ling I've been here, because not only do I tell time, I can calculate it. Exciting, isn't it? Tick tock, tick tock. All the time, forever and always. I clutch my head harder and rock back and forth.

But I know. I heard them talking. They don't want me anymore. I am a waste of space, with no ability worth studying. They are going to kill me. I hope it's soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Wendy

They shove me under the water. It's soundless and cold down here, with little light. I suck, drawing water into my mouth. I don't know how, but I get air from that. I don't have gills; I don't have fins or scales. I look normal, but I can breathe underwater. And, believe me, it's hard. Your natural instinct is to hold your breath. I used to have to wait until I was forced to suck in water; (because I was drowning) then I would breathe, but not anymore. Now I can force myself to suck and breathe.

It took them months to figure out my power. I went through fire. I lifted rocks. I was electrocuted. Broken. Bruised. And, finally, held underwater for thirty minutes before I died and was brought back. That was the first time I drowned. It wasn't the last.

Yes, I have seen Death. He isn't a skeleton, he doesn't have a scythe. He is a cloak of blackness, so black you can't see his face. It flutters as he floats toward you, and he reaches out a pale, pale hand and crooks his finger. Cold, misty slivers of air follow him, and you have no choice but to go to him. You feel cold all over, and he tilts your head back and reaches down your throat, looking to grasp your soul. You want to scream, to fight, but you are paralyzed.

I don't know what happens next. I've never made it past that part. I hope I do, until I see Death again. Then I want to be anywhere else, even back at the facility.

People have different feeling when they are terrified. Some become paralyzed. Some have their throat become blocked. Some have a knife in their stomach. I don't. I have a cold hand wrap around my heart. I shut my eyes in the classic I-can't-see-them-they-can't-see-me defense move. And I freeze. I could move if I wanted to, so I'm not paralyzed, but I become a rabbit. Frozen, eyes squeezed shut, praying that terror will pass you.

Terror is Death's brother. Terror is the hand covering your heart, Death is the knife that stabs your heart. Fear and pain, Terror and Death. Both visit me underwater, in that calm, silent, cold world.

I run out of oxygen underwater. Apparently, I separated water from air, (like I said, I'm not sure,) and there are not enough to sustain a human for a long time. I run out of air in about thirty minutes. Then I faint. I drown. They pull me out when they see my heart rate and the flat line on the monitor. I'm revived, given a few breaths, and shoved back in. Hour after hour. I am drowning every day. You can only visit Death so many times. He'll only let you escape so many times.


	5. Chapter 5

Peter

I had been running for hours now, and I was exhausted. All it is is me running down a circular track, but I had been doing it for hours. Every time I slowed down, a man reached down with a metal rod and sent an electric shock through me. I've tried to dodge, but he must have it hooked it up to a machine or something because it always gets me.

I rounded another lap, making it the 135th lap I had run. I couldn't take it anymore. I collapsed. I couldn't move, not by my own will. I lay there, panting, chest hurting, heart pounding. I once heard someone in the building say that each person only has a certain number of beats in their heart. If that was true, I was going to die soon. I couldn't breathe. I was suffocating, and I couldn't thrash. My face was pressed against the rubbery, rough ground, and I felt a pole prod my back. Then I felt the shock.

I had only felt minor shocks when I ran, I realize that now. The shock traveled through me, and it must have been a special kind of electricity, because the rubber ground didn't ground me. It was so painful. My back arched, and I heard a scream, a long, bloodcurdling scream that came from my mouth. If I had hair on my arms and head, it would be standing up. My back was arching again. My arms and legs bobbled, and my mouth was bleeding from smacking into the ground too much. Then they finally took the rod off my back.

I slumped against the ground, twitching. My legs and head hurt so, so badly. I couldn't move, the shock had paralyzed me. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't. When I felt someone lift me, I knew I was going back into the cage. I didn't fight it. I felt myself bobbing up and down with the man's steps. Then I felt myself being tossed into my cage. I lay there forever before I could move again. At one point I lost conscious.

I can back to immense heat. I was still sore, and I just lay there. I knew what they were doing. They had made me heat resistant, but only to a point. That meant that they were trying to make that point higher. I used to be 278 degrees Celsius, but now it's 300. It's a terrible feeling; the heat clogs your lungs and melts your skin to whatever you're touching. I have so many burn marks, I lost count. They take forever to heal, and by the time I do heal, there's another to take its place. My skin is too damaged to grow hair, so I have no arm or leg hair, no peach fuzz on my face, no hair on my head. My life consists of fire, and pain.

As the cage heats up, I lick my lips and I'm aware of the fact that it's nearing the 300 degree mark. My lips are starting to sizzle from when I licked and wet them. By now, it had to have passed the 300 mark. My skin started to stick to the bottom of the cage. I crouched so that only a small bit of skin would stick to the cage. My eyes were burning, and my mouth was dry. My lips were cracked; the lip-licking earlier didn't help. I yelled as it got even hotter. I could see the skin of my feet blackening. It takes a long time to become even more restraint. I started to scream. I have been doing that a lot, recently. But they are upping the pain levels. They had done it in the past, sure. But this time, they were way up. This time, I knew I wasn't going to make it.

I screamed as I collapsed onto the bottom of the cage, my skin blistering. Soon I only felt pain, and nothing but. As I faded out, I felt the cage cooling. But it didn't help. I was already walking toward Death, and he was reaching down my throat.

They tried to save me. They worked for many hours, using their high-tech gadgets, inserting tubes and needles. I watched from above, standing next to Death. I heard him chuckle, and he led me away.


	6. Chapter 6

Sarah

I remember them. I remember their deaths, their lives. I remember how scared and weak they were near the end.

78's death was the worst.

_Three years ago_

_ Insert the needle here…_

_ No, here._

_ Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Howl. Cry out. make them stop. _

"Shut the damn thing up!"

_Shut the damn thing up!_

_ Shut the damn thing up!_

_ Shut the damn thing up!_

_ A hand coming down. Pain. Run. Resist! Flee! Flee!_

"Holy… the thing's breaking the straps! Taser! Taser!"

_Pain. Pain. Pain. Run. Get away._

"Full blast!"

_Full blast!_

_ Full blast!_

_ Full blast!_

_ The stench of burning flesh. The fear. The pain._

And then an demonic scream.

"Run!"

_Run!_

_ Run!_

_ Run!_

They all ran. I saw it. I felt it. One man was mauled, his leg was bleeding. It was warm and sticky, and it enraged the beast. I saw it through their eyes and them through its eyes. Cowering on the floor, one with a shiny black object. A taser. But the beast, it was horrible. Thin and white with scales and whiskers, it had two legs it used to drag itself forward. The men screamed, and one jumped up and puch a button.

Eeeh!

Eeeh!

To the beast, it was a war cry. To the men, it was a last hope. To me, it was torture. The sound rang through my head a million times.

_What's going on? _Crawling toward the edge of her cell, another girl peered out.

_Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Ten o'eight. Tick, tock. What's that noise?_

Eeeh!

_Tick._

Eeeh!

_ Tock._

_ What is that? What is that? Are they coming for me? _Fear sliced through m heart a hundred time. I saw huddled figures, I felt tears, I felt fear, I felt anger.

And then I heard a hundred crashes as the beast broke through the doors of the lab.

A hundred clicks as it scurried down the hall, each followed by a dragging noise.

I saw a dark, open room through the beast's eyes.

I saw the beast through 78's eyes.

I knew 78 was a girl. I knew she had limp blonde hair, that she was thinner than I was. I knew she was ten years old, and that all she could do was see in the dark.

I heard a hundred screams, each 78's high-pitched tone. And I felt the beast's response.

It scrambled forward, toward the cage. It saw the girl. The girl saw it. She huddled in the back of her cage, arms around her. She screamed again.

"No!"

_No!_

_ No!_

_ No!_

_ What is that? What's happening?_

_ Tick. Tock._

_ Don't breath it won't find you it can't find you don't don't don't don't_

_ Stay still stay still stay still_

_ Tick._

_ Tock._

78 screamed again. I screamed, and closed my eyes. It did me no good.

A hundred screams. A hundred sounds of ripping flesh and breaking bones. Pain, everywhere. 78 looking, one last time, at the beast.

78's mangled body through the beast's eyes.

She was trapped. She couldn't get away. Stuck in the back of her cage. The beast could reach through, though. It's slender body crawled right through and tore 78 to shreads.

And 78 could do nothing to stop it.

I cried out. I screamed. Tears were running down my face, but they were also 78's tears.

And then, finally, no more pain.

There was still terror, but no more pain. She was dead.

And, thirty seconds later, so was the beast.

They congradulated eachother on a nice kill.

"Clean."

_Clean._

_ Clean._

_ Clean._

_ CLEAN._

It was not clean. Blood, everywhere. I was still screaming. But they couldn't hear me. They were too busy slapping eachother on the back.

"That one was useless anyway."

_Usless anyway._

_ Useless._

_ Useless._

I screamed until my throat bled and my vocal chords broke. I screamed until I couldn't hear anything. But I could still see.

Them cleaning up her body. The blood, still warm. Her hand, no bigger than a baby's, limp and bloody. The clean latez gloves.

The satisfaction of another room for rent.

All to the ticking of a clock.

_Tick. Tock._


	7. Chapter 7

Billy

This time I had to run. This time there was no water. This time, there was fire.

Last time, after the water, I was taken to my cell. Dripping wet and with a killer headache, ears popped and bleeding. Quite some time passed. Then I was taken to a lab. They really liked their electricity, I guess, because I was strapped down and electrocuted for what felt like hours. When everything blacked out, I was relieved. Well, as relieved as you can be when unconscious. But when I woke up, they were there.

I held it, held it, held it. It wasn't as hard as the water, but it was still hard. You see, this time I had to run. And it's not like it was a sphere around me I could run in, like the huge one they have me run in sometimes. No, I have to keep it in a half sphere around me, so my feet can stay touching the ground. Then I have to run.

Did I mention it was really hard to see inside my fields? It's clear, but it's hazy. If that makes any sense.

Anyways, they had me run. They threw fire at me. I broke out in sweat again, but, like I said, it was easier than being underwater.

So I was able to go a longer time.

I ran the track three times before the first ball of fire didn't bounce off. It more hit, and then went through. My fields can break two ways. Like glass, or like they are a bubble. Not _pop _like a bubble, but like things can go inside without breaking it type of bubble. It got too thin, and the fire got in.

I know. I should be a poet.

I hate fire. It hurts. Not as bad as cuts hurt, but it is up there.

My hands wind milled frantically, and I tried to make the shield stronger, really I did. But it was too much. I'm not the strongest person, if you haven't noticed. So I did the only sensible thing.

I dropped my shield, the pieces raining down on me, and ran like the hounds of hell were on me. Or the fires of hell, I guess. I wasn't fast enough, of course, but I was able to get at least ten feet.

A new record. I'll have to remember that.

The fire burned through my clothes, hitting my skin and sizzling. I screamed, (don't worry, it was a manly scream,) and fell to the ground.

They ran out and sprayed me with what I call White Foam, but it really a red extinguisher. They don't spray my face; I could suffocate. But the burning stops immediately. I sigh in relief, and decide that this would be a good place for a nap. I drift off as they grab the stretcher.

**A/N: Billy has reached his limits, and he is going mad. (Just so you're not staring at the computer like, "Wha?" He **_**is**_** insane. You are not imagining things.)**


	8. Chapter 8

Alex

They're coming. They told me. Well, they talked to each other in front of me. But it's the same thing. Tick tock, tick tock. Only three days and four hours and twelve minutes and two seconds. That's it. That's it. Tick tock tick tock tick tock not much more time. It's two forty eight and fifty nine seconds, now. A.M.. Not p.m., a.m.. Not that much more time. Then I'll be dead, and I won't have to know the time all the time. No pun intended.

I used to want a better power. Now? Now that I know I am going to die? All I want is Death.


	9. Chapter 9

Wendy

I saw him again yesterday. Like all other days. Except, this time, I had the sense he was smiling. He didn't come toward me; he didn't reach for my soul. That scared me more than the other times, when he had beckoned me.

I think I knew this was my last day.

When they shoved me under, there was instant cold. Colder than cold. And there he was. I felt the smile, and it made me colder. I lay at the bottom of the pool, and waited for forty minutes. Ten more minutes than usual. That's when he came forward and motioned for me to open my mouth. I opened it. After that, I couldn't move. I saw his hand reach down, and then pull out a dim, wispy looking ribbon. That's the last thing I saw before the cold went away, and the quiet changed to laughter and squeals of delight. I followed Death, who was carrying the ribbon as though it was a kitten. As we walked toward a light, he turned to me. Displaying the ribbon, he let it drop. It was sucked up suddenly, and I watched it go. Death walked away. And then I felt warm and happy, and decided to go toward the sound of the laughter.


	10. Chapter 10

Alex

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Only two more days and twelve hours and ten minutes and nine seconds please make it stop…


	11. Chapter 11

Hazel

Today I saw another experiment I hadn't seen before. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with him… I squinted to see if I could make out some faint scales or maybe some wings, like I had. But nothing. I saw nothing wrong with him. Maybe he read minds? Then he grinned at me as we passed, and I saw his teeth. I shuddered; they were all sharp as a fox's, and I swear I saw some meat stuck in there.

As he walked away I ignored the chill that went down my spine.

I didn't think about him for the rest of the day as I went through my tests. Nor did I think about him the next day. Nor the next.

But then I saw him again on the third day as I was being led to the track. He was hole, one I had seen on the way to my tests almost every day. This hole had grass and trees in it. It was a big hole too, looking to be about the size of a football field. I saw him in there, darting between trees as he chased after a girl who appeared to be sixteen. Terror filled her eyes, and her blonde hair was filled with twigs and leaves. She ran to the edge of the hole, and looked up at me for a split second. Her eyes met mine, and she opened her mouth.

"Help me!" She screamed, but I could do nothing as the boy, now running on all fours, jumped on the girl and bit down on her neck. She let out a moan and fell to the floor, twitching as the boy ate her. Then she went still. That all happened within ten seconds, but it would haunt me for years to come.

**-A/N Sorry it took me so long to update. But now that summer is here I can update it more frequently.**


	12. Chapter 12

Billy

Today they tried something different. They shoved me in a room of fire… I had to use my fields to keep it away. Didn't work as well… I have third degree burns on 15% of my body. Now my beautiful figure is ruined. I care because I saw a girl today. She was beautiful… I only caught a glimpse of her, but she was running in a pit. I thought I saw someone chasing her, but I was led away before I could get a good look. I hope I see her again soon.

Right now I'm sitting in my cage. I like to smack the bottom and then shout really loud, to see if my voice can overcome the sound of the bashing. Usually it can't, unless I bang on the cage with less force.

I also like to put my fields around me. But don't do it when they come! Oh, never do that! I did it once and I was punished. That day I actually died… I saw Death! He was so scary… Tall and bony, with mist all around him. I was screaming when they brought me back. They had to electrocute me… I woke up in my cage. But they walked in two min-

Ouch!

Sorry… My burns really hurt. They hurt so much… but the skin it peeling. I like to poke it and see the skin float to the floor. It reminds me of birds. I saw a bird girl once. She was flying on the track. So pretty- she looked sad, though. Very sad. I wanted to cheer her up, but I was shoved to the floor when I opened my mouth.

I realized my leg was asleep and shifted and-

Ouch! Ouchouchouch!

I curled up on my side and put up my field. Silence and a sense of comfort enclosed me, and I fell asleep.

**A/N: Hello. If you could tell me if you like how Billy's character is beginning to act I would appreciate it. I'm not sure how I feel about it, yet. **


	13. Chapter 13

Sarah

There was a boy that was burned… I could tell. His skin was rubbing against his pants and it felt like he was poking it. It caused me a lot of pain… but not as much as what another subject was feeling.

_It's going to end soon… _

_ Soon…_

_ It's going to end soon…_

I can tell that she is going to die soon. My skull is splitting. I think they're trying to get her brain to be like mine.

Poor girl.

_Make the cut here…_

_ Cut here…_

_ Here…_

_ Now pass the scalpel. I have a vein._

_ Vein…._

_ Vein…_

I felt the knife slice.

I screamed.

They didn't give her anesthesia.

_ Needs more anesthesia…_

_ More anesthesia…_

_ Ithurtsithurtsithurtsithur-_

_ Done._

Some relief… my skull was still splitting.

I couldn't stop screaming. My screams echoed back at me four or five times.

_ Done…_

_ Done…_

_ That's better… now hand me the scissors…_

_ Scissors…_

_ Here._

I felt the scissors being slapped into a hand. They were cold. Icy.

I smelled blood, too. I felt like I was going to be sick. The smell was smelled by five people.

_Almost done._

_ Done..._

_ Done…_

_ She's flatlined!_

_ Flatlined…_

_ Flatlined…_

Panic rose in my chest. Not mine; theirs.

They were running around, zapping the girl's chest.

I jumped as the zapping things were dropped to the floor.

I jumped as her heart restarted and the electric current ran through me.

I felt happy. Again, it was their happiness. The sounds of clapping and laughter ran through my head over and over.

And then I lay there while they sewed her head closed. She needed more anesthesia. The needle tugged and pulled… it didn't hurt as much as the surgery had, though.

And then everything became louder.

The clapping increased.

The cheering increased.

Every noise and thought and taste and smell and feel increased.

_What's going on?_ I thought.

_Going on…_

_ Going on…_

Pain erupted in my head. I clutched it, not sure if it was because of me or because of the girl's head.

And then:

_Surgery successful! See the levels of brain activity?_

_ Levels of brain activity…_

_ Levels of brain activity…_

_ Brain activity…_

_ Activity…_

_ What's going on?_

That thought wasn't mine. It almost sounded like…

_Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? I think you can read minds, too! _Hope fluttered in my chest.

And then my thoughts bounced back. A smile split my face as I received an answer.


	14. Chapter 14

Sarah

Only seconds after this realization, I hear them coming.

Their steps echo hundreds of times, some in my head, some through the door. The lab isn't too far away, after all.

_We've made a better model. No need for the old one._

_No need for the old one._

_Old one._

My heart froze.

"Get me the medicine. Hurry."

_Medicine. Hurry._

_Hurry._

_Hurry._

No. No, please.

So many times I had wished for death, but I don't want it! I don't want to die, please no. Please, please no.

I hear the door open, heard the metal hit the wall. I heard it again and again, saw it hit the wall again and again.

I also saw the needel. Again and again.

I whimpered, and crawled as far back into my cage as I could; huddling in the corner.

_This is going to be messy, just like always. _The man who thought that sighed. I shivered, not prepared for what was to come.

One man flung open my cage door.

Crash!

_Crash!_

_Crash!_

_Crash!_

He bent down and reached out his arm. I tried to move away, I really did. But I felt the needle pierce my skin. I saw his thumb pressing the end down, saw the liquid draining into my leg. He pulled the needle out, and slammed the cage door shut.

Crash!

_Crash!_

_Crash!_

_Crash!_

My vision doubled, everything became louder and brighter. Their voices mixed together, smells were intensified. My skin crawled with itchiness. And then there was only black.


End file.
